Melisa Taylor: Timing not right for a run at Hatcher's seat

SUGAR GROVE – Melisa Taylor said the time is not right for her to make a run at becoming south central Kane County's state representative.

Taylor, a Kane County Board member and a Republican from Sugar Grove, said Thursday that she will not be a candidate for the 50th State House District. Kay Hatcher, a Yorkville Republican who currently holds that seat, has announced that she would not seek re-election in 2014.

No candidates have emerged for the 2014 election for Hatcher's seat. Ethan Hastert, an Elburn Village Board member and the son of former Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert, has said he "will not be running" in the 50th District.

Taylor previously said she didn't know whether she would run for the seat, and she said she considered it. But she said Thursday that, while her family would support a run for the 50th District, she didn't feel it was the right time for her to make such a commitment because her family must remain a priority. Also, she said because the county board districts recently were redrawn, there is a portion of her new district that she had been representing for only a short time.

"A decision like that, to run for the 50th, is life altering," Taylor said. And though she said the time wasn't right for a run in 2014, she would be interested in the future.

"Will I consider it going forward after this election? Yes, I will," she said. "It would be an opportunity to represent more people, to be a voice for more people."

Taylor now represents all of Sugar Grove and Big Rock. Previously, her district covered only a portion of that.

"There's lots of work to be done," she said, adding that her "responsibility lies with my current county board district."